A Different Path
by The Feisty Rogue
Summary: Hermione's parents are unhappy to learn their child was petrified for months by a basilisk. Hermione is unhappy with the consequences.


**A Different Path**

* * *

"But, Dad, you can't do this! Please, please—I have to stay at Hogwarts."

Hermione's lip quivered as she looked at her father. He was watching the road, hands gripped white-knuckled around the steering wheel of the car, but he glanced at her for a moment, a stern expression on his face.

"Hermione, our decision is final. I know you love it at Hogwarts, sweetheart, but you were comatose for months—months! And the school didn't contact us, not even to let us know you were still alive. No messages from you, no messages from the teachers—we were driven out of our minds with worry. We thought you'd died! We did everything we could to contact you, but no one seemed to be of any use. You're not going back to that death trap. Your friend, Harry, you said he had to fend off a fifty-foot snake and nearly died in the process. That's the second time he's nearly died in that school of yours! And another of your teachers assaulted you—that's outrageous! We weren't sure about you returning after you told us what happened in your first year, but this really takes the cake."

It wasn't fair. Her parents didn't understand. Hogwarts was dangerous, but Hogwarts was where she belonged. Hermione buried her head in her arms and sniffled, trying not to cry.

"I have to go back to Hogwarts, Dad. I just have to! It's where all my friends are… my first ever friends!"

Dad sighed. "I know, sweetheart. But you can use those owl messenger birds to contact them, can't you? They'll still be your friends, even if you don't go to school with them."

The car indicator blinked as Dad turned into their drive. He parked the car and got Hermione's trunk out of the boot, lugging it over to the house. Hermione stayed in the car, sobbing into her hands. She tried to think of an argument that would persuade her parents to let her go back to Hogwarts, but Dad had already countered the best of them on the car ride back. She felt like her heart was breaking; it was like seeing Ron getting brutalised by a giant chess piece all over again. Her breath came in panicked gasps and she startled when she felt a warm hand on her back. She looked up into her mum's brown eyes and burst into tears once more.

"I know darling, I know you're upset," Mum said, drawing Hermione out of the car and into her arms. "But we're not taking your away from magic school completely, just Hogwarts."

* * *

Beauxbatons was just as stunning as Hogwarts, yet worlds apart at the same time. A chateau of the French Renaissance era was nestled in the bottom of a valley, a back-drop of lush green mountains capped with snow and dark forest sprawling out beyond. Swooping over a turret was a pair of creatures Hermione had never seen before: two winged horses that disappeared behind the castle as they approached. Surrounding Beauxbatons were formal gardens and lawns, sparkling with life and vibrance; they could only have been created and maintained through magic.

"This is beautiful!" Mum gushed. "I've never seen the like. Oh, it looks like a fairytale castle."

Hermione looked out of the window of the carriage they'd been provided and didn't answer. Even if it was beautiful, Beauxbatons was not where she wanted to be. Harry had sent her an owl three days ago detailing the mystery surrounding Sirius Black. She needed to be at Hogwarts, with him! Helping him stay safe, ensuring that Ron handed in all his homework on time, stopping them both from getting up to too much trouble!

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Hermione wiped them away, furious at herself for showing weakness. Crying hadn't changed her parent's stance on which school she'd be attending. Now she was going to show them resilience, determination: she would return to Hogwarts come hell or high water.

"Oh, Hermione, try and let yourself have some fun while you're here. Please, sweetheart, for us?" Mum said.

"They offer more classes than Hogwarts ever did," Dad added. Hermione chewed on her lip. She was excited for the opportunity to learn even more: Beauxbatons had classes on Duelling, Ritual Magic, and Warding. They also offered extracurricular lessons in Muggle subjects such as Geography and the Sciences, and Maths. Hermione had signed up for them all, as much as the timetable would allow. If she had to go to a new school, the least she could do was learn everything they taught there before she left it and returned to Hogwarts.

"Your friends would want you to enjoy yourself," Mum said slyly. Hermione huffed, scooting further down the bench away from her. Even if it was true, Hermione still felt like she was betraying them.

"I hope you'll change that attitude when we meet with the Headmistress, young woman. I won't stand for rudeness." Dad's tone was sharp.

Tears threatened again. Hermione took a sharp breath, misery curdling in her stomach like sour milk. "Don't worry, etiquette is of the utmost importance at Beauxbatons. I'll be your perfect little girl soon enough."

Her parents began to have a muttered argument, but Hermione ignored them in favour of watching a group of students dressed in a pale blue uniform gather by the entrance to the chateau. They greeted each other with hugs and kisses aplenty, obviously friends coming together.

Hermione missed Harry and Ron. She even missed Lavender and Parvarti and the raucous bustle of Gryffindor Common Room. She didn't want to change schools. It wasn't fair.

* * *

"Come on, Hermione! We will be late for class!"

Hermione jumped, startled, and then hurried to tidy away her books. "Sorry, Amelie. Coming!" She snatched up her wand and cast a spell to remove the wrinkles from her clothes, the first thing she learned to do upon coming to Beauxbatons. Three months later and she'd learned a lot more. It was a bittersweet feeling.

Amelie was standing at the entrance to the dorms, tapping her foot on the floor. She sighed when she saw Hermione, shaking her head. With a flick of her wand, Hermione's hair was tied back into a plait, neatened, if not perfect.

"Your hair is so wild," Amelie bemoaned.

Hermione snorted. Amelie had long blonde hair and blue eyes—she obsessed over her appearance but hardly needed to. Luckily, Amelie also obsessed over perfect grades, and they'd soon become fast friends upon finding each other in the library on the first day of school.

"Everything about me is wild," Hermione countered. Her French had much improved, likely because no one at Beauxbatons was inclined to speak English to her. It was an 'uncivilised tongue' according to Amelie.

"Blah, blah, blah, you are a wild English school girl, untrained in the ways of the world. You always say this, but it is not true! You are a Beauxbatons student now, and so you are one of the elite!"

Hermione huffed a laugh as she followed Amelie out of the dorms and towards their first lesson, Applied Potions, a class she did well in. Beauxbatons focused on the theoretical side of magic for the first two years of learning, so they were going over potions Hermione had learned to make in first year. However, the classes on theory were tough and Hermione was lucky that she'd studied as much as she had back at Hogwarts, else she'd be at least a year behind her peers.

"Whatever you say," Hermione agreed, exchanging an amused glance with Amelie. They entered the classroom, taking their usual seats. It was a much safer set-up than Hogwarts, with wards to catch exploding potions and spells to remove fumes. It seemed that everything about Beauxbatons was focused on the safety of the students.

A guilty part of Hermione liked it. She hadn't really thought about how her much her life had been at risk at Hogwarts, not until she was faced with the diametric opposite. But it had been three months, and at Hogwarts students had been attacked by soul-sucking demons and Sirius Black had broken into the castle. At Beauxbatons, the worst Hermione had to worry about was the mandatory physical exercise: Quadpot, Quidditch, or horse-riding.

Hermione still ached to return to Hogwarts, but the rational side of her understood why her parents had forced her to transfer. At Beauxbatons, the one time a student had bullied her about her blood status, he'd been given five weeks of detention. Hogwarts was a school more focused on learning to stand for oneself, whereas Beauxbatons nurtured their students; spoiled them, even.

If she had to stay here, Hermione was determined to learn everything she could, and not forget the lessons Hogwarts had imparted as well. Harry was a magnet for trouble and he always would be the boy who'd fought a troll to save her life. She would do everything she could to help him fight against Voldemort and those who followed him, even if she had to do it from abroad.

One day, she would return to Britain, armed with a wand and all knowledge she could absorb, and she'd be standing by Harry's side, fighting for what was right.

* * *

_Word Count: 1543_

_QLFC Captain Round 11 Prompt: A student transfers to another school._


End file.
